Voodoo. Definitely. No doubt about it. A proper Houngan would string Gandalf up by his whiskers, douse him with chicken blood, piss on him, set his beard on fire, and make him a zombie in thirty seconds flat.

Ah, how I have come to love that sense of accomplishment and victory that I get when I pull the wool over the eyes of a clever player character. What DM Triumphs have you had?

Some of mine:1. Finally killing an incredibly powerful, lucky, annoying player's character.2. Finally achieving a TPK (Total Party Kill)3. Finally achieving a TPK using only traps4. Finally working out how to make it so that d**n wizard doesn't steal the spotlight all the d**n time.

This isn't so much a scenario of apples versus oranges but apples versus antelope.

Several questions to consider:

1. What are the power levels of the magical styles deployed by the two magi?

Gandalf the White would leave any mortal practitioner of voodoo hanging from their toes since in the Tolkien mythos Gandalf isnt a human but an Istari, a being rather akin to a weak Loa.

2. How fast are they able to cast spells?

A mage capable of rapidly casting spells is going to have an advantage over the mage who has to prepare half an hour, drawing circles, verve, chanting, getting their perspective of reality warped by drugs, sweat lodges, etc

3. How versatile are their spells?

The voodoo magi isn't going to do very well against a pyromancer, since his spells require physical components from it's targets ala fingernail clippings and hair. A zombi will be toast, and cursing is too slow. Against a necromancer, the voodoo ongan/ashkar will propably have an even fight, so long as it sticks to cursing and such and not who can raise the dead better

4. Is their a way for Magic Duels?

The Mage: the Ascension game had a magical combat system called Certamen. This was a formal ritual/spell where the two combatants squared off and contested their magical skill in a duel of wits, perception, and intelligence with a minimum of collateral damage. This also allowed magi of differing paradigms to duke it out, such as a God fearing Clerical Magus going toe to toe with a brass and steam steam punk technomancer

Voodoo practicioners would have to rely on stealth, gathering the required components in silence. No one would be able to best Gandalf type wizards in an open battle.

With required preparations both the necromancer and the voodoo practicioner would best the other spell casters. Unless the shaman initiated soul travel to possess the opponent, but possessing a strong willed magic user would be hard.

The wizards best bet would be showing up and just blasting away with his spells.

The shamans best bet would be to possess apprentices, townfolk and servants and try to assassinate his opponent.

The voodoo practicioners best bet would be to gather the physical components he requires and assassinate his opponent.

The necromancer... Well, he'd have to build his usual army of undead and send it after his rival.

Just listing the stereotypes. Of course they could summon demons and bind them to their service, or they could perform some death magic ritual or enchant mighty geased swords and give them to mercenaries, or whatever.

Mm, I rather expect - as with most duels - it comes down to whomever strikes first. Someone with a M-16 loses to the guy with a matchlock arquebus if the latter gets in the first shot.

So ... let the houngan, the shaman and the necromancer fiddle around with elaborate rituals; if I'm a punk combat wizard with Ice Sphere-18, I'm going to beat them into pulps. The way for the ritualist to handle mixed magical duels is to try not to enter them.

Logged

It's not that I don't understand what you're saying. It's that I don't *agree* with what you're saying.

"The way for the ritualist to handle mixed magical duels is to try not to enter them."

That is true, it still sounds like a certain disadvantage... until one remembers, that any self-respecting ritualist can afford some form of supernatural protection, curse, or spirit, waiting to bring bad luck to anyone attacking him (or horrible death to anyone killing him).

So don't be so quick attacking that vulnerable slow shaman, there might be hell to pay.

On other game boards, these are called Versus Threads "Gandolf vs Voodo Hogun" for example.

Normally this sort of thread is really in the Traverns. These thread are lots of fun, through usually they are super hero vs superhero (Movie Batman vs Comic Batman, Batman versus Shang Chi, etc )

If you were looking for mechanics, then you need to find mechanics in a system that does both and work with it. (GURPS would do, and Gandolf would rock the Practioner's world. Sure they would evoke the flame resistance of the Metal Lord, but then the Gandolf would hit him with something else... round three usually ends with the Practioner on the ground as Gandolf can fire off a sorcery spell every round and it several rounds (usually) for a vodun practioner to put off a spell. (Check out GURPs Voodoo for details).

Though, just for the sake of argument, the Voodo practioner could just close and engage in Hand to hand, especially if they have evoked the Lao of Metal and Fire. His bonsues to martial skills would make him formitable. Now if Gandolf could not spell cast because of hand to hand.... then it is anyone's ball game. Of course Gandolf would then back up.. jump away, etc... So.. still it is a bit more open than round three and you are down. '

Ah, how I have come to love that sense of accomplishment and victory that I get when I pull the wool over the eyes of a clever player character. What DM Triumphs have you had?

Some of mine:1. Finally killing an incredibly powerful, lucky, annoying player's character.2. Finally achieving a TPK (Total Party Kill)3. Finally achieving a TPK using only traps4. Finally working out how to make it so that d**n wizard doesn't steal the spotlight all the d**n time.